1. Field of the Invention
This invention is an apparatus that collects the lost or wasted heat from a domestic gas water heater, there by increasing the efficiency of the heater, by recovering the wasted heat.
2. Description of the Art
Various approaches to the problem of economically heating water for domestic and commercial use have employed a water heater in which an efficient heat source, typically a gas burner, is utilized to heat the contents of a water storage tank which is provided with an in-line connection to a domestic or commercial water systems generate a considerable of amount of waste heat which dissipates into the surrounding atmosphere, rather than heating the water in the storage tank. This waste heat, lost either directly, as a flow of heated gases vented through the exhaust flue of the water heater, there by significantly increasing the cost of heating water. Typically, a baffle is suspended within the exhaust flue to slow the flow of heated gases in a attempt to recover some of the waste heat. Also, while improved insulation and burner designs have reduced the amount of waste heat lost from the water heater storage tank, such approaches have not been successful at utilizing or recapturing the previously unused heat vented through the exhaust flue.